Big Thicket National Preserve  
Texas, USA
GPS Coordinates:
30° 26′ 04.92″ N, 94° 06′ 07.56″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 30.434700000000000
LON -94.102100000000000
One of the first preserves founded by the National Park Service, the Big Thicket is a great escape from the confines of the city. It's bordered by the picturesque Trinity and Neches rivers, and is a crossroads where swamps intersect with the pines, foothills and sand hills. Named a preserve to safeguard the delicate balance of nature and organisms, the Big Thicket is the outdoor photographer's place to get lost and seek out images. It lies on a coastal plain that's filled with streams, swamps, forests, rivers and wildflowers that provide a backdrop for great photos. In the dense swamps and rugged pine forestry, there are plenty of places to capture different species of trees and wildlife.

Horseshoe Bend
 
Near Page, Arizona, USA
GPS Coordinates:
36° 52′ 43.22″ N, 111° 30′ 38.81″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 36.878672222222200
LON -111.510780555555000

Monument Valley at Sunrise or Sunset  
Arizona, USA
GPS Coordinates:
36° 58′ 56.42″ N, 110° 06′ 35.46″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 36.982338888888800
LON -110.109850000000000
Located in northern Arizona on the border with southern Utah, Monument Valley is the quintessential spot in America to capture the magic of the Southwest. Red buttes and mesas rise out of the desert over a lone stretch of U.S. Highway 163. This area is part of the Colorado Plateau and is characterized by Cutler red siltstone and iron oxide that make these structures their distinct orange-red color. It's a great place to take panoramas of the rugged terrain at either sunset or sunrise, offering a glowing landscape for magnificent photos.

Toroweap Point looking east  
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
GPS Coordinates:
36° 12′ 37.67″ N, 113° 03′ 48.78″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 36.210463888888800
LON -113.063549999999000

"The Wave" 
Coyote Buttes, Arizona, USA
GPS Coordinates:
36° 59′ 43.46″ N, 112° 00′ 21.89″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 36.995405555555500
LON -112.006080555555000
Near the Arizona/Utah border is a sandstone formation of slick rock chutes that appear as swirling orange, white and various other shades of curling waves. Getting to the Wave takes a three-mile day hike into a rugged landscape that elevates 350 feet. The swirling formations change color throughout the day due to natural daylight, giving the appearance of constantly varying formations. Here you can find chutes, castlelike structures and other interesting shapes to photograph.

Big Sur
 
California, USA
GPS Coordinates:
36° 16′ 12.08″ N, 121° 48′ 27.84″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 36.270022222222200
LON -121.807733333333000

California Poppy Reserve
 
Near Lancaster, California, USA
GPS Coordinates:
34° 43′ 58.18″ N, 118° 22′ 34.70″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 34.732827777777700
LON -118.376305555555000

Mt. Whitney  
California, USA
GPS Coordinates:
36° 34′ 48.85″ N, 118° 17′ 32.40″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 36.580236111111100
LON -118.292333333333000

Patriarch Grove Bristlecone Pines  
White Mountain National Forest, California, USA
GPS Coordinates:
37° 23′ 17.56″ N, 118° 10′ 49.10″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 37.388211111111100
LON -118.180305555555000

South Tufa  
Mono Lake, California, USA
GPS Coordinates:
37° 56′ 31.16″ N, 119° 01′ 46.21″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 37.941988888888800
LON -119.029502777777000

El Capitan from the southside drive  
Yosemite National Park, California, USA
GPS Coordinates:
37° 43′ 34.11″ N, 119° 37′ 40.23″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 37.726141666666600
LON -119.627841666666000
El Capitan is a great place to shoot in the western part of the United States because of its brilliance in lighting, which varies throughout the days and among different seasons. It's also a favorite for climbers who want to challenge this granite monolith. El Capitan is a 3,000-foot rock face in the Yosemite National Park that's used for everything from base-jumping to hiking up the trails next to Yosemite Falls, and of course, is an outdoor photographer's staple landmark in the West. A great vantage point that can't be missed is the Southside Drive, where great photographers like Ansel Adams once roamed and took photos of this American icon.

Mo'omomi Beach 
Molokai, Hawaii, USA
GPS Coordinates:
21° 12′ 02.23″ N, 157° 09′ 29.32″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 21.200619444444400
LON -157.158144444444000

Na Pali Coast  
Kauai, Hawaii, USA
GPS Coordinates:
22° 13′ 13.32″ N, 159° 35′ 04.31″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 22.220366666666600
LON -159.584530555555000

International Balloon
Fiesta
 
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA GPS Coordinates:
35° 11′ 45″ N
106° 35′ 49″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 35.19583333333333
LON -106.59694444444445

San Juan Mountains
 
Colorado, USA
GPS Coordinates:
38° 05′ 40.44″ N, 107° 53′ 22.44″ W
Microsoft® Virtual Earth™:
LAT 38.094566666666600
LON -107.889566666666000
The San Juan Mountain Range is a series of rugged mountains in southwestern Colorado featuring vast 14,000-foot snowcapped mountains. The terrain runs for a staggering 12,000 square miles and offers up some of the most amazing shots in this part of the country. Bordering some of the best spots to shoot in the San Juans is the San Juan Skyway, a 236-mile loop that runs the gamut of these mountains. Among some of the most beautiful terrain here are spots like Yankee Boy Basin, which provides various wildflowers, streams and massive mountains in the background. On the loop you can find the Weminuche Wilderness, an undisturbed land filled with trails and mountain settings. There are many vantage points along the San Juan Skyway that take you through rough terrain and terraces overlooking these beautiful peaks.